Soul of a Duelist
by Masakuni
Summary: A duel is more than a battle of cards; It's a battle of heart, and of soul. Duel Academy is no stranger to deadly battles and otherworldly threats. Once more, the students must rise against the darkness, and a hero must arise with the Soul of a Duelist.


A/N: First off, of course, I don't own Yugioh, Yugioh GX, the card game, or any of that, all I own are my own creations. And those don't make money, unfortunately.

This story has lived in a thousand incarnations before being deleted due to inactivity at the third chapter. This time, however, I've got it all planned, and it'll be beautiful. I use the Japanese order of names; my characters are assumed to be speaking Japanese. I also use 8000 LP, and make up 90% of all cards used. ^_^

Enjoy, I hope.

Soul of a Duelist

Chapter One

Sakurai Masakuni yawned, frowning down at the sidewalk before him. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, sighing as the sun continued to shine merrily, completely ignoring how groggy he was. He squinted away from the bright light, his head directed at the ground with a grumble.

"This… sucks…" He murmured to himself. It was about six in the morning, far earlier than he usually chose to wake up. The Duelist Academy Selection Exams were always held early in the morning, as a rule. A rule that was sorely resented by one blue-eyed, brown-haired teenager, who was currently dragging his feet along the sidewalk. He sighed, pulling his black backpack a little tighter.

Still, though, it could have been even earlier, he reflected, brushing a bit of dust off of his black zip-up jacket. It hung open, exposing the red and white button-up shirt he wore beneath it. The wind brushed up against him, and he waved a futile hand at the sky, trying to get the elements to cease their attack against him. Blue eyes focused on the road ahead. _Only three more blocks to go_, he thought with a sigh.

He shook his head, sending messy brown hair scattering out of place. He brushed the sleep from his eyes again, glaring at the sidewalk before him. _Might as well get it over with. _He thought, picking up the pace and jogging down the sidewalk towards the Kaibacorp Dueldome, where the selection exams were being held this year. His white sneakers smacked against the pavement as he dodged incoming traffic, passing another block.

_Come on, I want a few minutes to sit around before it's my turn to duel._ He thought, glancing at the piece of paper he had clenched in his hand. The number twenty-four was scrawled on it in neat handwriting. The exams had started two hours ago, and he couldn't imagine it would be much longer before the twenty-forty bracket of duelists started their exams. He frowned. _I really need to work on waking up earlier._

"Maybe if Rina would freakin' wake up…" He groused. His big sister, Sakurai Rina, was an early riser. Despite this, she never woke Masakuni up when he asked. He was starting to think she really derived pleasure out of watching him crash and burn.

His eyes focused on the shining dome and Blue-Eyes motif of the Kaibacorp Dueldome. It was just a block away… He could see the double-doors leading into the arena from here. He picked up the pace, sliding over the hood of an angry driver as he made his way across the street. He smirked at the curses shouted at him, making his way over to the black-suited doorman. _Typical._ He thought with a sigh, looking over the muscled man who looked like some kind of mafia thug.

"Number?" Said thug asked curtly, but not unkindly.

"Twenty-four." Sakurai Masakuni said, a little out of breath. The doorman consulted his clipboard, frowning briefly and looking back up at the boy before him.

"Sakurai Masakuni?" He asked.

"That's me."

"You duel in…" The doorman checked his watch. "One minute and twenty seconds." Masakuni swore, brushing past the doorman and into the Dueldome. The man watched him go, shaking his head. "Kids these days."

"I HEARD THAT YA OLD FART!" Masakuni shouted from inside. This time the doorman swore.

Inside the building, Masakuni avoided the stands, instead heading straight to the side-entrance for duelists entering the field itself. There was a doorway that was currently glowing with the number twenty-four in digital lettering on the display board above it. He figured there couldn't be a much clearer sign than that, and walked towards the doorway.

He slid his DD2 out of his backpack, clasping it unto his arm. He smiled, brushing a bit of dust off of it and pulling his deck case from his pocket, popping it open and inserting his deck into the duel disk. Satisfied, he strode through the door. Beyond it was a long, dark hallway lit at regular intervals by stark lighting. At the end of the hallway was nothing but a sign. Masakuni strode towards it, squinting slightly to read it in the semi-dark of the hallway.

He stopped before it, quirking an eyebrow. "Watch your hands and elbows…" He quoted, confused. All of a sudden, the ground beneath his feet rumbled and he felt himself rising as the floor moved towards a ceiling that was, in fact, no longer there. The light crossed his eyes as he rose into one of the four dueling fields, walled off from the others. He looked around at the stands, just visible from above, smirking. "Sweet."

Behind him, he heard a faint click as another duelist ascended into the platform. This one was a tall, graceful man with black hair and blue eyes. He wore a long, elegant blue coat, signifying him as a teacher in the Obelisk Blue dormitory. He too wore a DD2 Duel Disk on his arm. Masakuni quirked an eye at the man.

"What's up with the Battle City model?" He asked, the professor just shrugged, looking down at it and smiling cheerily.

"I have used zis model for many years." He explained, his Japanese heavily accented. Most likely French, if Masakuni had to guess. "But on to business, oui? I am Professor Nouveau, and you are Monsieur Sakurai, if I am not mistaken." The teacher wasted no time, his duel-disk activating and snapping into place. Masakuni smiled, flinging his arm out as his own opened into ready position.

"Call me Masakuni." He said, smirking.

"Very well. You may call me Professor Nouveau, Monsieur Masakuni. Duel!" (PNLP: 8000)

Masakuni nodded in response, pulling six cards free from his deck. "I'm hoping you don't mind if I start?" (SMLP: 8000)

Up in the stands, one tall student in the coat of an Obelisk Blue pushed up his glasses, his blond hair spilling over it. He frowned over the rim of them, staring down at the students. His eyes flickered over to the group of teachers standing in their personal corner of the stands, frantically arguing and pointing to the box of practice decks. He smiled, glancing down at Masakuni. "I suppose a new teacher wouldn't know to use a proctor deck in the exam duels."

"That's some bad luck for the kid." A quiet voice agreed beside him. It came from a dark-skinned, curvy girl who stood beside him in a dark blue pair of pants and custom Obelisk Blue blazer. It fit to her athletic form tightly, leaving little to the imagination. "I suppose they're going to have to redo this one so he at least has a chance on entrance." She sighed.

"Disappointed, Izumi?" She glanced at the boy. "Can you blame me? We all want to see the old legend of an underdog student defeating the proctor's true deck return. Everyone is waiting for the successor to the Hero Kaiser." She sighed. "They shouldn't cling to false hope." She crossed her arms over her chest. The boy said nothing, only nodded.

Nouveau nodded acceptingly of Masakuni's start, and Masakuni looked over his cards, smirking. _Not a bad start._ He thought to himself. He took one card from his hand and slid in unto his duel disk. "I summon Mage Knight Spring, in attack mode!" (1100/1400) The field before him shimmered, before a young warrior materialized on the field, wearing padded green leather armor and gloves with metal plates here and there, with a ragged green cloak clipped at his throat. He gripped a thin sword in his hand, and a metallic helmet covered his eyes.

"And when Spring is summoned, I can draw another card from my deck." Masakuni continued, pulling another card from the deck. He slipped two cards into his spell or trap zone, causing the holographic representations to appear behind his sorcerer. "Over to you, professor."

"Thank you, mon ami." The professor said. "I have not encountered these 'Mage Knight' cards before, tu sais. Zis shall be interesting, I think." He drew another card from his deck, a look of determination coming into his eyes. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon! Ze card on ze left!" He held up the card, causing a burst of rain and thunder to obliterate one of Masakuni's facedown cards. The boy grimaced. He waved his hand at the other face-down card, causing it to turn upwards.

"I activate Minor Summoning Art – Houmon!" He said, revealing a card with an image of his Mage Knight surrounded by a circle of intricate ruins. "Since I have a Spellcaster-type on my field, I can special summon another from my deck! And I choose Mage Knight Autumn!" A swirl of leaves danced across the playing field as another, similar warrior materialized, this time wearing an orange cloak and set of armor. (1600/1200)

"When Autumn is summoned, you take one hundred points of damage for every card in your hand." Masakuni said with a smirk. As he spoke, a swirl of wind swished around his knight, who elegantly pointed his sword towards the professor, causing the wind to strike him in the chest. (PNLP: 7500)

"Well, the boy isn't doing half bad." Were the words of the Obelisk Blue boy in the stands. "He isn't letting Nouveau get away with an unharassed turn here." He turned to Izumi, who was still watching with cynical eyes. She brushed a strand of raven hair out of he chocolate eyes, making a quiet sound of disapproval.

"Let Nouveau take his turn, he'll crush the boy. I've seen him duel." She said simply. "This kid is far out of his league, Alex." The boy nodded with a frown, turning back to the duel.

"Not a bad move." Nouveau said with a smile. "However, you might have revealed ze whole of your move in zis round. It is never good to use up all you have so quickly." With that, the French educator slapped a card onto his duel disk. "I summon Wolf in ze Moonlight in attack mode!" (1300/1200) A gray wolf with scraggly gray fur and haunting yellow eyes stalked onto the field. Masakuni frowned. _It can't beat my Autumn._

"And next, I play ze spell card Forest of Dark Secrets!" He said, sliding it into his field card zone. "And by discarding one card from my hand, I can summon a Dark Attribute monster from my hand!" He explained as he did just that. Dark and foreboding trees sprouted from the ground, surrounding the duelists in a sort of twilight. As he did so, a group of Ravens flocked to one of the trees, swarming around it. "Meet my Forest Ravens, in defense mode! (0/1000)

"My forest also increases the attack and defense of my monsters by 200 points." The professor explained. (1500/1400)(200/1200) "Mon Forest Ravens also decrease your monster's attack and defense by 500 points as long as they remain on ze field." Masakuni gulped as his monsters slumped down, weakened. (600/900)(1100/700)

"And now, Wolf in ze Moonlight, attack mon ami's Mage Knight Autumn!" The beast snarled, leaping forward and slashing through the warrior-magician, exploding him into pixels. Masakuni cursed under his breath. (SMLP: 7400) The professor simply continued smiling, inserting a card into his spell and trap zone. "With zat, I end mon turn."

Masakuni drew his card silently, looking at it. He smirked after a moment, laying down a card on his field. "I play Premature Burial! I give up 800 life points to bring Autumn back from the graveyard!" The ground gaped as his warrior floated up from the earth again, twirling it's blade. (SMLP: 6800) "Next I sacrifice Spring in order to summon The Battalion Commander Castaria!" (2300/1900) A beautiful woman, dressed in a suit of sparkling silver armor, descended on the field, her long blue hair flowing free. She gripped a long staff, frowning as her power decreased. (1800/1400).

"Next I attack with Castaria! Destroy Forest Ravens!" She spun her staff in a spiral, releasing a burst of blue energy at the foe. Nouveau frowned, activating his set card.

"Dark Strings of ze Puppet Master." He said. "Your attack is redirected to mon Wolf in the Moonlight." The magical blast obliterated the wolf with a crackle. The Frenchman seemed unperturbed by the loss of his monster. (PNLP:7100) Up in the stands, Alex smirked.

"I see… This way, his ravens still cannot be defeated." He murmured to himself.

Masakuni arrived at the same conclusion, frowning. "Well, I have a way around that!" He said forcefully. "By discarding a spell from my hand, I can send one card on your field to the top of your deck!" As he spoke, the Raven disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Castaria giggling as the two monsters regained their strength (2300/1900)(1600/1200) "And that leaves you open! Autumn, direct attack!" The warrior saluted, releasing a blast of wind from the edge of his sword at the teacher. (PNLP: 5500) "And I end, with one card facedown."

"Dominating." Alex said simply. "I think I'm going to win this one, Izumi." The girl simply shook her head, ignoring him. Alex sighed, pushing his glasses back up. "I'm curious where he acquired these Mage Knight cards. I've never heard of the series before."

"Unique, very unique cards." Nouveau said, echoing Alex's sentiment. "And so, I draw mes ravens once more… And I play mon Pot of Greed!" A cackling laugh filled the air as Nouveau drew two more cards, smiling at them. "So next, I special summon ze Ravens through Dark Forest of Secrets." He slid one of his two remaining cards in his hand into the graveyard. "And next, I sacrifice them in order to summon Enslaved Werewolf!" His new monster growled, stomping unto the earth and shaking out it's torn brown fur. A series of runes ran down its back and arms, signifying its bindings. "And he gains power from zat same forest!" (2500/1200) Masakuni's eyes widened.

"Attack, Chained Frenzy Fang!" The beast flew forward, slashing through Castaria and destroying her. Masakuni winced at the loss of the strongest monster on his field. (SM: 6600) The werewolf roared, some of the runes on its body shattering. "And when it destroys a monster, it gains 200 attack points as it breaks more of its bonds." (2700/1200)

"Activate trap card!" Masakuni interrupted. "Forbidden Arts of Demise!" His card flipped up, showing a bleeding spellcaster blazing with magical energy. "As long as this trap remains on the field, you will receive 300 points of damage during each of your standby phases." Nouveau nodded.

"Very well. I end mon turn, monsieur Masakuni. C'est un bon game so far, oui?" The professor said cheerily, causing Masakuni to sweatdrop.

"His Japanese is… so bad…" He murmured to himself, drawing a card. "I play Major Wounding Art – Shou! This causes you to lose 1000 life points." (PNLP: 4500) He frowned. "And change Autumn to defense mode. I guess that's it." He muttered as his monster held his blade in front of him defensively.

"Well, here it is." Izumi said finally, surprising Alex. "This is the turning point, where this kid is going to start losing." She sighed. "And he isn't ever going to stop losing until the duel ends from here. Maybe he can earn some points for doing okay before losing."

"Draw." Nouveau said calmly, taking his card and barely glancing it before sliding it into his Duel Disk. The aura of magic surrounded him, but he ignored it. (PNLP:4200) "Zis is mon Midnight Timbrewolf, in attack mode." (1700/1000) A pure white wolf strode out onto the field, it's eyes glowing deep silver. It's fur rippled as its teeth drew back into a snarl. (1900/1200)

"And now… ze Midnight Timbrewolf will attack your Autumn, while Enslaved Werewolf attacks directly!" Nouveau declared, pointing his empty hand at Masakuni, who swallowed nervously.

"Oh damn… This is gonna suck…" He said to himself as his Mage Knight was destroyed, slashed through by the vicious fangs of the first wolf. A hard, sharp claw struck him hard in the stomach next, making him let out a harsh, painful cough. (SMLP: 3900) "End."

"Getting serious, eh?" Masakuni coughed, drawing his next card. "Damn, that hurt… I play Pot of Greed, to draw two cards." He frowned down at them. "Damn it… bad draw…" He frowned. "I summon Mage Knight Winter, in defense mode!" (1000/1900) Another warrior arose, this time wearing blue leather-plated armor and an icy blue cloak. He held a knight's shield in front of himself. "One card face down and end."

"Well, well… It has been a fun duel, no?" Nouveau said. "But all good things come to an end, and the end is within a few turns." Masakuni frowned, narrowing his eyes at the Frenchman.

"What makes you say that?" He said defensively. The professor simply chuckled.

"Nothing, nothing." He said to himself, looking over his hand as he drew another card, the magic aura surrounding him briefly. (PNLP: 3900) "At a tie now, no? Not for long." He looked over the field, waving a hand at his Timbrewolf. "I sacrifice mon Timbrewolf to activate his effect, allowing mon Enslaved Werewolf to attack directly this turn!" The white wolf howled, leaping forward and holding down Masakuni's Mage Knight. The runic werewolf leaped over the two of them, slashing Masakuni with a harsh claw again. The boy dropped to his knees, coughing.

"Oh my…" Professor Nouveau said, sighing. "Zat may have been too violent, mes apologies." He waved a hand at Masakuni. "Your turn, mon ami."

"I'm fine…" Masakuni growled, hauling himself to his feet. "And now it's my turn!" He drew powerfully, closing his eyes. Without even looking at the card, he slid it into his duel disk. "I play Graceful Charity!"

Alexander's eyes widened. "Izumi, did you see that?" She nodded quietly. Hearing no response, he continued speaking. "Do you think, perhaps-" She cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"Let's find out."

"And so, I discard two of the three cards, keeping this one." Masakuni said, his eyes blazing with determination. "And I switch my Mage Knight Winter into attack mode!" His monster shifted, drawing a short sword from his belt. "And I activate my spell from my hand! Minor Banishing Art – Hima!" Winter thrust his shield at the Enslaved Werewolf, sending a burst of blue runic energy at him. "Sending your werewolf to the top of your deck!" He growled, his eyes narrow as the Werewolf disappeared, whisked away by the energy.

"And next! I activate my trap, Major Summoning Art – Seizoroi!" His trap flipped up, revealing Mage Knight Autumn standing before a circle of magical energy, blazing with power. "Summoning from my Graveyard… Caster-General Archimedes!" The forest shook as magical energy erupted from the center, revealing a tall, imposing man with graying red hair, dressed in full red and silver battle regalia. He gripped a long red sword in his gauntleted hand, the battered red cloak on his armor fluttering in the wind. His eyes blazed red with internal power. (2900/2000)

"Order of the Mage Knights! Attack!" He yelled, pointing at Nouveau. The two caster-warriors thrust their blades together in unison, releasing a burst of red and blue that wrapped around itself, intermingling into a long beam of extending energy. It slammed into the professor, sending him skidding back. (PNLP:0)

The dueling holograms disappeared, leaving Masakuni pumping his fist in the air. "Hell yeah!" He shouted. Nouveau watched with a smile. The boy had played well.

"Well done, monsieur." He said. "I look forward to seeing you at ze Academy." Masakuni smiled back, throwing a thumbs-up at the professor. "You know it."

Up in the stands, Alex smirked. "Looks like I win, Izumi." She snorted in response. "It's almost unprecedented." She turned her back to him.

"Keep an eye on him, Alex." She said, turning to stride from the academy. The boy nodded seriously, looking back down at the boy who was dancing and jumping about in the dueling field. He was so happy, in fact, that he couldn't hear the other teachers yelling at Professor Nouveau.

"You can't use your real deck!" They insisted. Nouveau blinked.

"Really? I did not know zat." He smiled to himself, turning back to glance over his shoulder. "See you at ze Academy, mon ami."

The Academy is in sight, but some ungentlemanly conduct leads Sakurai Masakuni into a duel on the way there that might cost him his entrance to the school! See it all next time in **Boat Trip – A Gentleman's Duel!**


End file.
